Cleveland Law Library Weblog

109 Ohio Municipal Judge Seats Up in November

Of the 109 municipal judge seats up for election in November, 39 are contested, including 5 in Cuyahoga County. The Ohio Supreme Court reminds us that municipal court judges are elected for 6 years in odd-numbered years, while all other Ohio judges are elected in even-numbered years. The Ohio Supreme Court's press release contains a link to a list of all 109 seats and the associated candidates. Each County Board of Elections would also maintain this information.

50 Contested Judicial Seats Are on November's Ballot

According to the Ohio Supreme Court, there are 50 contested judicial seats up for election this November. That includes 2 of 3 supreme court seats, 12 of 27 appellate seats, 32 of 120 common pleas seats, and 2 county court positions. Click here for a searchable judicial and candidate voter guide from Ohio's Secretary of State. I ran a search for all races in Cuyahoga County, which you can review at this link.

Ohio Secretary of State's Office Now on YouTube

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Ohio Secretary of State's office has joined YouTube to post various videos with information about the SOS's office and elections. One of the videos covers new electronic poll books, and another discusses a recent conference for county elections officials.

Judge4Yourself.com Judicial Ratings Already Available for Cuyahoga County General Election Judicial Races

Judge4Yourself.com has already posted judicial ratings for judges who are running in Cuyahoga County's General election later this year for offices on the Common Pleas Court (General, Domestic Relations, and Juvenile divisions) and the Court of Appeals. The ratings also cover the Ohio Supreme Court. So far, the organizations which have compared the candidates and compiled the ratings were the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, and the Ohio Women's Bar Association.

DOJ Threatening Cuyahoga County With Suit Over Bilingual Ballots

The Plain Dealer reports that the DOJ is threatening to sue the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections if it does not print bilingual ballots for everyone in the County to ensure that Puerto Rican voters can read the ballots and make informed choices when voting. The DOJ's apparent demand is based on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the BOE is considering the costs and other considerations involved in this request. The article highlights what the BOE has already done to reach out to Puerto Rican citizens for prior elections, including hiring Spanish-speaking poll workers and translators for about 35 precincts.

Local Municipal Judgeships Up for Election

Next week on November 3rd, several area municipal court judgeships will be up for election at the polls. Three candidates are running for 1 judicial seat in Bedford, but there is only 1 contested race of the 5 races in which incumbants are seeking re-election in Cleveland Municipal Court. Judge Patrick Carroll is running unopposed in Lakewood, but Parma's Judge Gilligan is being challenged by Edmund Tallos. County-wide voting information can be found on the website for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

2009 Judicial Candidates Can Receive 15% More in Contributions

Beginning with new campaigns that can start on Monday, January 5th, supporters can now contribute 15% more than last year to their favorite judicial candidates. According to changes adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court last month, increases in the CPI over the last 4 years warranted raising the limits. However, candicates who are still collecting money for 2008 campaigns will have to live with the old caps. The Ohio Supreme Court's Press Release contains a handy table of the new limits, which start at $575.00 by an individual for a juidicial candidate in a small Common Pleas, Muni or County court, and max out at $316,250 by a political party for a Supreme Court justice in a general election.

Judge4yourself.com Rates 2008 Judicial Candidates

If you have not already voted and need help deciding which judges to vote for locally and on the Ohio Supreme Court, check out judge4yourself.com. This website provides biographical information on each of the candidates running for office in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Court, Probate Court, the 8th District Court of Appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court. The site also provides ratings for each judge by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, the Ohio Women's Bar Association, the Call & Post, and The Plain Dealer. The four (4) associations listed are members of the Judicial Candidates Rating Coalition.

11th Congressional District Residents Will Have to Vote 3 or More Times

In the wake of the Congressional vacancy created by the untimely death of respected U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, (see our prior post), the Plain Dealer reports that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is going to have to schedule a primary and general election to fill her seat in Congress. This, on top of coordinating the November presidential election, will give 11th District residents 3 voting opportunities in the next few months. Make that 4 possible elections for Cleveland Ward 7 residents who live in the 11th District and were represented by former Cleveland Councilwoman Fannie M. Lewis, who recently passed away on August 11, 2008. The Plain Dealer indicates that although the elections would be very expensive if separately held, some cost savings could be achieved by coordinating the dates of the votes and using the November voting equipment.

Has There Been An Admission Against Interest in the Voting Machine Debacle?

Is the news from Premier Election Solutions, Inc. on msnbc.com an admission against interest (under Ohio Evidence Rule 804(B)(3)) by the maker of Cuyahoga's County's former voting machines? The article indicates that Premier has just stated in a product advisory that there is a problem with its voting machines that drops votes. The article also indicates that Cuyahoga polling officials apparently found and corrected the problem in the March elections when they were using the memory cards that were not being read properly. Except for Cuyahoga County, Ohio is apparently going forward with using Premier's machines in November, with adequate safeguards to make sure no votes are lost. For information about prior blame Premier placed for the problem, the Ohio Secretary of State's suit against Premier, and Premier's suit against Cuyahoga County, see our prior post.